I have two vows.
The first vow is to translate the Sutras. Since I left the home-life, in
confronting the problems of the world, I studied all the different religions,
and wondered, why have Catholicism and Christianity become so widespread? How is
it that so many people put their faith in them? I think the principles of the
Buddha-dharma are so lofty and profound, so wonderful and inconceivable.

Why haven't they
become widespread? I discovered that it was because the Sutras (Buddhist
Scriptures) have not been translated into foreign languages. English
translations are scarce as can be. For this reason, although I understand
neither Chinese nor other languages, as long as I am still alive I want to
undertake this enterprise. Our goal is to translate the Sutras into as many
languages as possible. If we can do that, then even if you didn't want the
Dharma to spread, it would spread anyway.

The Dharma Realm
Buddhist Association began translating Sutras in 1968. The translators at the
time only had a partial understanding, and their Chinese was not that proficient
either, so the Sutra translations they did had some errors.

If we do a good
job, then I believe the leaders of the countries will all support our work. But
we must first lay a firm foundation using the strength of the people. This is my
vow regarding Sutra translation.

What is my
second vow? Education. I see that education is now on the verge of bankruptcy.
Human beings are getting closer and closer to the state of animals. That's why
I'm promoting education at the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas as being foremost.
The promotion of education begins with the elementary school. Right now we are
working diligently but silently in the elementary school, secondary school, and
university, getting the job done right. Why do I say that education is close to
being bankrupt? Take a look-in today's elementary schools, many of the children
are using and selling drugs. In high school, of course, it's much worse. And in
the university, people take hedonism and pleasure-seeking as their principle.
The education in elementary school is aimed at teaching children to compete for
first place. Now, in a whole country of people, not everyone can be number one.
If everyone is number one, who will be second? This way of teaching is a
mistake.

There's another
variety of education which teaches children to study hard, so that they can make
more money in the future. This is using profit to motivate students to study,
and it's not the original purpose of education. The original purpose of
education is to teach children to be filial to parents, to respect teachers and
elders, and to set a good foundation for being a person. And for that reason in
our elementary school we teach filial respect, first of all, so that children
will know how to love themselves, and how to love their families.

Because
secondary school students have a broader conception, they should be taught to
cherish their own country. To truly love your own country means to not attack
the country of another. What if another country were to attack us? What do we
do? We should strengthen our foundation as human beings, and understand how to
act as people and love our country. Then, we will naturally be protected from
external enemies by an army of the spirit. This is the essence of secondary
education.

What about the
university? At the City of Ten Thousand Buddhas, we teach the principles of
humaneness, righteousness, the Way and virtue. If people can really learn this
well, their personalities will definitely be wholesome. This is the basic
education, and it is the true defense of the country. This is my second point of
emphasis-education.